Thursday, August 9, 2007

Here is a song I bet none of you have ever heard before: the Pink Floyd song Hey You, performed by Misriat, a group from Egypt. It is from their CD "Pink Floyd The Wall". (Sorry for the foreign language in the link, but that is the best I could find.) This CD includes songs from "The Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here", so I guess naming it "The Wall" was a bit of poetic license?

I have no idea how you could buy a copy of this CD. I got mine when I was in Cairo, Egypt in 2000.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Everybody likes the sweet saxophone sound of Mr. T, or at least I believe so. Here is one of his mellow tunes, I Told Jesus, off his "Salt Song" CD.

I saw Mr. Turrentine in the late 1990's, at an arts festival in Raleigh, NC. The man put on a great show! Stanley is no longer with us, but I am sure the angels are swaying to his sweet sounds right now.

A little added trivia: I too grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, but not in the Hill District.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

If you had gone to the "Rhythm on the River" concert on June 16th, like I told you to (!!), you would have heard a lovely young woman by the name of Hannah Miller sing this song: Ashes. I was at this concert with my friends Nick and Ivanka, and Nick, who is a musician, went all gaa-gaa over Hannah's voice. And let me tell you, she sounds even better in person!

If you grew up in the 1970's like me, you certainly knew of the group Yes, and the very talented guitarist Steve Howe. However, you may or may not have heard some of his solo releases.

"Quantum Guitar" came out in the late 1990's, and is one of his better CDs because, well ....... he does NOT sing on it. (Sorry Steve!) Look, Mr. Howe is an okay singer and all, but he is one of the BEST rock guitarists ever, and I think his voice is just not in the same league with his guitar playing. (If you do like his singing, then excuse my poor taste!) Here are two short songs from this CD, Country Viper, and Soveriegns that you can listen to. Good stuff, huh?

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Angelo is from Nova Scotia. I met him years ago, when my ex-wife and I took a trip to that lovely northern, hilly part of the province known as Cape Breton. Mr. Spinazzola, besides performing as a musician at night, runs a very goodguided kayak tour business. We went on his tour, had a great time, (saw lots of bald eagles, in Canada!), and he was such a nice guy I bought his CD. As it turns out, he is also an excellent musician, as you will discover once you listen to his music.

Check out his myspace page, and if you happen to be in Sydney, Nova Scotia, maybe you can catch one of his shows.

By the way, Cape Breton is a GREAT place for anyone to visit who likes music. I would guess there are more musicians per capita there than anywhere else in the world. Just watch out for the bagpipes!!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Well, this is embarrassing ......... the sound card, (I guess it is the sound card?), on my PC has died, and now my PC is mute. That's right: I can not hear a durned thing! Which means that, if in a fit of senility I mislabel a song or two, I won't be able to catch my error. Phooey!!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

If you are a filipino, surely you know of Gary Valenciano, or Gary V., for short. (Did you also know he is known as, "Mr. Pure Energy", because of his energetic dancing?) Here are two of his songs, which I assume are sung in Tagalog, as he in from the Manila area.

Monday, June 11, 2007

How about a very, very Short_Song? This is an a cappella "performance" by your friendly blogger. (Aren't you glad it is a SHORT song!)

And here, as an encore, is the "dub, scatter" remix: Short_Song_remix. What do they really mean by "scatter" or "dub" remix anyway? Do those words mean anything at all, or are they just empty marketing blather?

Yesterday was an extremely frustrating day at work. Now understand that my job alternates between just normally frustrating, very frustrating, and extremely frustrating. Yesterday was not a good day.

Yesterday evening I was still irritated, and found myself unable to sleep. So ...... I hopped on the internet, and went cruising to places I probably should not go!

One of these was the webpage of a young lady who dumped me last year. Now some of you may know that currently I am engaged to a most wonderful woman, who also happens to be from the Philippines, and that we are waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a VISA so she can come join me here in Columbia, SC, and we can get married. The woman who dumped me was also a filipina. Well, as it turns out, guess who got her VISA and is already in the USA?

So, I humbly dedicate this song, Devine_Thing, to all the people who helped make yesterday so irritating for me.

Yet, yet ......

Who am I to complain, really? I have a job, which even though I do not always like it, pays me well, and is safe. I am healthy, and my family members are all healthy. And most importantly, I am engaged to the wonderful Ronelin, who is truly the Sunshine in my life. (Okay everybody, say "Ah, how sweet!")

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Okay, well maybe not totally "exclusive", but here is a tune I can all but guarantee you will NOT find anywhere else. Todd Cecil, (see earlier posting "Led Zeppelin Covers" for another of his songs!), sent this little ad-lib song to my buddy Jackson, who sent it to me. And now you too can hear Todd strummin' his banjo to the tune, Lay_Your_Burden_Down.

Just a reminder: Mr. Cecil will be playing at the "Rhythm on the River" concert series here in Columbia, SC, on June 16th. If you live 'round these parts, get yerself on down to the river to hear some good music!

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Back to the subject of unheard music ......... maybe, in her proper cultural context, Yoko Ono isn't so strange after all? (Nah ...... she's weird. And proud of it!)

Anyway, here is some very strange music from Japan. The song is Love_Isnt_Blind, and it is off the "Guitar Organism" CD. "Guitar Organism" seems to be the brainchild of one Kazuyuki K. Null, of whom I know not a durn thing, other than he is an experimental musician, (obviously!), and his real name is apparently Kazuyuki Kishino. However, if you do a Google search, you will see that "Guitar Organism" pops up in a few playlists.

I have been asked this question, and I immediately answer, "Of course!" And it is true. Friends, family .... at least once ....... maybe.

Okay, here's the deal: it does not matter whether only 1 person ever reads this blog, because it costs me absolutely nothing to post to it. I only lose my time, which is not really a loss, because I am learning all about blogging in the process. And if that one person hears some music s/he likes, and then buys the CD because of this blog, then I have done my job. (Ta da! Give that boy a medal!)

And besides, I am making money off this blog! Why just a little over a week ago, I received my first payment from Google Adsense. Okay, it was only for 42¢, but hey, even the largest financial empires have to start somewhere, right?

I've also been asked why I get so few comments. (Confession: the only comment to date was posted by me!) Part of the reason for this is that to leave a comment, you need a blogspot id, which I think is a real bummer. I know that if I am browsing a website, and I have to create an id to leave a comment, I just won't leave a comment.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

I know next to nothing about this group, or its lead singer. Anyone know whatever happened to Petra? Mike Showalter, the group's drummer, turns up on a few internet pages, so I assume Scrub has long since disbanded.

Next we have the wonderful Lucia Cifarelli singing with her now sadly defunct band Drill the sweet little tune, Go_To_Hell. This song is from the "Drill" self-titled CD.

I usually don't like overtly dark, heavy rock, but I really enjoy this album, and am sad that Drill never released another. I read that they did tour extensively. Maybe someone has recordings of some of their live performances?

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Speaking of Guitarman Sam, here is a song he recorded with John Woodard: When_The_Band. Besides playing guitar, Sam cooks up a damn file tamale, and is married to one of the coolest chicks in the Carolinas. But to hear him play these days may take some effort, not the least of which will be traveling to Columbia, South Carolina, USA. (When and where are you playing again, Sam?)

Another song I'd like to post, just because I like to play it for my Sweetie, is a B.B. King & Irma Thomas duet called We're_Gonna_Make_It. It goes out to my buddy Jeff, too, who has had more than his share of hard luck. (Hang in there, Buddy! Things are gonna change!)

"We're Gonna Make It" is from B.B. King's "Blues Summit" CD, a collection of collaborations with many famous artists. I assume everyone knows who B.B. King is, so how about a Wikipedia link to Irma Thomas.

The first song, Countdown_to_the_Year_2000, is what I guess you would call "Christian Rap". It is off the "Countdown to the Year 2000" CD by Kyper.

I'm not a fan of Rap or Hip-Hop music; I barely listened to the remaining tracks, but I can say not all of them are religiously themed. (I don't think "Weird Sex" would play too well at Sunday School!) Tabatha is a nice song.

The second song, The_Hand_of_the_Almighty, is a bit of a parody of country gospel tunes. DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS SONG IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED BY "BAD" WORDS, PARTICULARLY F*CK! I think this song is funny ...... and TRUE! So watch out, you sinners!

Anyway, this song was sent to me by my buddy Guitarman Sam. I don't know much, (okay - anything!), about John R. Butler, but a quick Google search turned up his website, http://johnrbutler.com/, and here is a site where you can buy his CD, described as "Postmodern Honky Blasphemy"!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Here is BiniBini , another philippine song, this one sent to me by my Sweetie. (Thank you, Dear!) When I play it, the phrase "brownman revivial" briefly appears.

My Sweetie says this one is in Tagalog, so if you were looking for a song in Bisaya, you are momentarily out of luck. (Hopefully I can resolve that soon!) As for the particulars of the song .... who performs it, what it is about, etc ...... I don't know yet. Stay tuned!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Here's an interesting CD: Dream Tiger, 13 songs by the group, (?), Monster Island. I can't find a webpage for these guys, so I don't know if they are still around and recording, but here is what a Google search turned up: Monster Island. Wikipedia never heard of them.

Listen to Dream Tiger: Erika Hoffman is the vocalist, and she is featured on several other songs. Fantomas is a nice, campy tune.

Bear in mind there is some creepy stuff on this CD, ("The Dead Father", "Hob Goblin"), which would make wonderful music for a Halloween party, or good background music for telling ghost stories around the campfire!

Since I am providing free samples of various music, I think it's necessary to address the ethics of downloading someone's artistic work, WITHOUT paying for it.

First of all, I want to note that the purpose of this blog is to give exposure to artists who, in my opinion, either lack adequate publicity, or deserve more. Thus, you won't see much Led Zeppelin, Elton John, or Prince music posted here. (Unless it is performed by someone else!) The idea is to let you hear some tunes you may not otherwise hear, with the hope that if you like the work, you will BUY the CD!

Is this ethical? I think so; in fact I think I am helping the artists, rather than hurting them. What do you think?

Following are some links on the ethics/legality of posting and downloading music. Note that I am much more interested in the ETHICS rather than the LEGALITY, as the legal system all too often dances to the tune of the one with the most money, whether or not that is the ethical thing to do. (E.g., see the antics of the RIAA.)

Saturday, May 19, 2007

I don't listen to much Contemporary Christian music, but my Sweetie does, so I figured I should put an entry in for a few songs in this genre.

The first is from Sandi Patty, and is not really overtly religious at all, although Sandi is most definitely a practising Christian. Love_Will_Be_Our_Home is a great example of her wonderful voice. It is off of her album ....... uh, well phooey! I don't know what album, (if any!), this song is from. Any of you Sandi Patty fans know?

The next song is from Shirley Caesar, off of her Sailin' CD: Let_Your_Spirit_Fall_on_Me . If you live in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, USA, you NEED to own at least one Shirley Caesar recording, as she is a local hero in those parts. There is even a street named after her in Durham. Go to maps.google.com, and type in this address: "shirley caesar court, durham, nc 27701".

Finally, a little rowdy inspiration bluegrass from the David Crowder band: I_Saw_The_Light . Be aware this is a .wma file, because yours truly hasn't figured out how to convert this to an mp3 file yet. But it's a nice song, off the "B Collision" CD.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Here is a song from the Philippines: Pinoy_Ako.mp3 . I know almost nothing about this song. I think "Pinoy Ako" means, "I'm a Filipino"? I don't even know if this is being sung in Bisaya or Tagalog.

I was in the Philippines this past February, (Feb 2007), and it is a nice place. I enjoyed my trip, especially since I got to spend time with my Sweetie! And no, I did not eat any Balut! (Don't even ask!)

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Okay ..... it should be "Flamenco Guitar". Pardon my lame attempt at a pun!

This song, Amazonas, is the last song on the "Primal Magic" CD by the two flamingos (ha, ha!) Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah. These guys are pretty good, huh? This CD came out in 1990, ( Mesa, (or maybe Rhino?), R2 79023), and was one I purchased through a brief membership in the BMG Music Club. Jorge is from Costa Rica, and Ardeshir is from Iran.

This is a reggie-ish humorous song about a really crappy car. There are STRONG words in this song, so ..... *ahem* ..... if you are an easily offended type, please don't listen to it! Also, it is not particularly child friendly.

I hope none of you can relate to owning something like this! Back in the early 1980's I had the misfortune to own a Renault LeCar, which was a rather pathetic vehicle. (I knew I was in trouble when a guy visiting from France saw it and said, in his heavy accent, "French Junk!") I also briefly owned a Ford Escort, (I will NEVER buy a Ford again!!!), but after that have owned only Hondas and the occaisional GM pickup, and I haven't had a lemon since.

If anybody knows who performed this song, and where it can be purchased, please let me know. Adam Sandler.

I'm starting this blog to give a little exposure to various musicians whose recordings I have accumulated over the years. With most of the FM band seemingly becomming owned by one company, (with a few exceptions, like college radio stations, and a few brave free-form stations here and there), it seems that we will have to take matters into our own hands, and help support musicians whose music we enjoy, yet who are not overtly "commercial".

Ideally, you will come across something you like in this blog, and be inspired to check out more of the artist's work, perhaps even buying a CD or two!